How True Is Yeonmi Park’s Story?

On the night of March 31st, 2007, a thirteen year old girl and her mother crossed the North Korea border into China searching for freedom. That girl was Yeonmi Park, today she is a world famous North Korean defector, her harrowing take of survival has captivated people from all around the world.

In the dead of night, little Yeonmi and her mother crossed into the border of China with help from human traffickers. Her father was extremely ill and stayed behind, her older sister had ran away on her own. They had tried to get word about her from human traffickers, but we’re unsuccessful and presumed she was dead. Later that year, they were able to send word to her father and arrange to smuggle him into China. There he was diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer, he died before they made it to South Korea. They had to bury him in an unmarked grave, soon after they fled to South Korea with the help of Christian Missionaries. Once they finally reached their destination and settled into their knew lives, Yeonmi began to speak openly about her life under the rule of the Kim Dynasty and her escape from North Korea.